The CBB continues our countdown for the 2010 College Baseball season by checking in on the Top 100 Players in the country. We will be providing one player per day until we reach number 1.
We continue the list today with number 53 in our countdown with Duke senior LHP Christopher Manno. He is from Brooklyn New York and attended Xaverian High School in New York. He had an outstanding high school career as a senior he hit .515 with nine home runs, 55 RBI and 34 stolen bases and went 5-1 with a 0.66 ERA and 95 strikeouts as he earned first team all-city accolades.
Manno struggled in his freshman season as he made seven appearances on the mound with two starts. He finished the season with a 0-1 record with a 9.64 ERA in 9.1 innings. He did lead the team in strikeouts per nine innings with 9.64. In his sophomore season (2008), he made 12 starts on the mound for the Blue Devils accumulating a 6-2 record with a 3.38 ERA while striking out 80 batters in 58.2 innings of work. He spent the summer with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League where he was a perfect 3-0 with a 1.21 ERA while striking out 54 batters in 48.2 innings. He also held opponents to a .182 batting average against. He 
was named to the CCBL All-Star Team and All-League Team.
In 2009, he spent most of the season as the Blue Devils number 1 starter as he made 14 starts with a 5-6 record and a 4.89 ERA in 73.2 innings. He continued with the high strikeout totals with 72 last season while walking 35 batters. Manno finished the 2009 season with a .234 batting average against which was good enough for eighth in the conference. He was even better in conference play as he held opponents to a .227 average which was good enough for fourth. The Washington Nationals selected him in the 2009 MLB Draft in the 38th round but he decided to come back for his senior season with the Blue Devils.
You can check out the rest of our Top 100 by clicking here.
13 comments
Ok here is the low down on this kid Manno. He is a 6 foot 2 lefty from NY that is gutsy ballsy kid from NYC. I actually think he is from Brooklyn, but I may be wrong. I played with him in a east coast tounement many years ago and he was good. You know he did not light up the gun but he was sharp. I then went to play ion the Cape and faced him. Now all of the writers can say whatever they want. I faced him a total of 5 times that summer including once in the all star game. He is a pain in the ass. he hides the ball well, it has late action and he is getting better and better each time out. I mention to my club that this kid is for real. now the guys from baseball america and where ever can write about him being 89-91 but I rather face a guy thats 92-94 then face manno. If you have ever played this game then you understand my words
I know him,played with him, and could not say anything but great things about him. besides being a dynamite fun guy, he could outright pitch, and if he finds that third pitch , he is going to be very difficult to face. Great comments by Ben, face the guy a couple of times and then you will know what we are talking about
Played against him in the ACC for three years and was a teammate of his in the cape. This guys is awfully tough to hit. He is a friend as well as a rival but man Id rather have him on my team
might there be a trend to eval pitchers – that can pitch
all you hear about is GUN
sitting on a flat fb – you know is coming – is better odds
-than a hitting crafty lefty – or rhp as well
the Mano kid shows it takes brains to be successful at this level
and the guys at DUKE have done a good job with Mano
Guys after seeing him at the Cape and Duke, I have to ask why he did not sign to play for the Nats. He certainly was offered a good package, I guess Duke might be the answer. Good student athlets value thier time a such a great university.
Crafty lefties do great in college but a pro team may not give them a shot in the draft until the later rounds. Crafty lefties rarely succeed past A ball unless you have tools and stuff. That being said, Manno does have tools and stuff and like you guys said, if he can add a couple ticks to the radar gun and develop that 3rd pitch then he will have every opportunity at the next level. And i would be willing to bet that is why he turned down the Nats offer. They offered him a much lower bonus than what he will get after developing a 3rd pitch, adding some mph to his numbers and dominating college ball.
Aman. well said and I think you are correct but let me add this. Manno was offered a very good amount to turn pro and I woul not say he is a crafty lefty. He come at you and make no mistake, he challeneges everyone. As you said all he has to do is develop that third pitch , and add acouple of ticks on his fastball. Remeber at the cape is was 89-91 (he sat) so to be a lefty that is 90-92 is fine
I will only say that Tim is on the money . Duke has done a great job with Manno, and it is also great to see a young man think about school. saying that Tim made a point of evel players. The gun doesn’t mean diddly if you can not pitch. This young man has great action on his fastball. just ask anyone in the ACC or at the Cape. Manno struck out Ackley three times in one game, that is not a accident.
Kudos to Tim
I said “crafty” because someone else mentioned it. I have personally never seen him pitch. He is very intriguing to me.
I have seen Manno on multiple occasions and he is a solid lefty as I said in the article. I will see how much improvement he has had this season when I see him again.
Manno is da mannnnnnn
Just can not understand how The Nats let a kid like this go. They could of had him for 4th-5th round money and they just fell short, at least that is what I heard. I also heard he loves Duke and has to finish what he started, if that is the case I love this Kid already. It comes down to confidence in your ability to super succed as a senior. Good for you Manno
I like Manno Very much, and like his make up, Duke coaching staff really does a great job getting these guys ready. Manno is example of how good of a job thier pitching coach is doing(Great Job Sneadacker)
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